The Lead

Lufthansa could face "unlimited" compensation claims for the crash that killed 150 people in the French alps and it would be difficult, even counterproductive, for the German carrier to try to avoid liability, experts said. Several analysts said Lufthansa will probably reach settlements with relatives of victims to avoid going to court

Weekly news and features for business continuity professionals

The World Health Organization said last year that bacteria resistant to antibiotics have spread to every part of the world and might lead to a future where minor infections like strep throat could kill. Antibiotic resistance also threatens animal health, agriculture, and the economy. In an interview with WebMD, President Barack Obama said over-prescribing antibiotics is a serious problem.

The cutting-edge technology was billed as a way to decipher where exactly the morass of nuclear fuel might sit at the bottom of reactors in the Japanese power plant that went into multiple meltdowns four years ago. But what went wrong, even in a simple demonstration for reporters Friday for the $5 million project, was a sobering reminder of the enormous challenges that lie ahead for the decommissioning of Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Communities in Chile's northern desert region are digging houses out of the mud and working to reopen roads after floods pummeled several cities and left nine people dead. he heavy rains swelled rivers and led to flash-flooding in cities including Copiapo, Chanaral, Tierra Amarilla and Taltal, all north of Santiago.

House intelligence committee leaders unveiled a bipartisan cyber security bill amid signs of broad agreement on long-sought legislation that would allow private companies to share with the government details of how they are hacked, without fear of being sued.

The co-pilot of the Germanwings jet barricaded himself in the cockpit and "intentionally" rammed the plane full speed into the French Alps, ignoring the captain's frantic pounding on the cockpit door and the screams of terror from passengers, a prosecutor said.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority accepted a report that says a reactor at Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear plant on the Sea of Japan coast sits right above an active geological fault, a move that may force the operator to permanently shut down the unit.

America's railroads want five more years to stop train wrecks using a high-tech system costing more than $9 billion. But experts tell The Associated Press that it won't keep trains and trucks from crashing together unless both industries use a common-sense solution available right away.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said he plans to work with his counterparts in Alaska and Oregon to look into operations at Premera, which is based in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The investigation will explore the cyber attack disclosed by Premera last week, in which hackers accessed the personal information of 11 million consumers, including 6 million in Washington, between last May and the exploit's Jan. 29 discovery.

A woman who tested positive for Ebola in Liberia last week is dating a survivor of the disease, a health official said, offering a possible explanation for how she became the country's first confirmed case in weeks. The patient is now being treated at the Monrovia Medical Unit, a U.S.-built field hospital.

Amazon.com's video game streaming platform Twitch informed users that their accounts may have been hacked. Twitch told users that it had taken steps to accelerate the expiration of their passwords and stream keys as a precaution, while disconnecting accounts from Twitter and YouTube.

Taiwanese health authorities have ordered a recall of all food products illegally imported from five Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 earthquake and consequent nuclear disaster. The Food and Drug Administration announced in October last year that it was planning to introduce regulations requiring foods imported from Japan to carry prefecture-specific labels of origin.

Opponents of the 820 billion yen ($6.8 billion) plan argue that the massive concrete barriers will damage marine ecology and scenery, hinder vital fisheries and actually do little to protect residents who are mostly supposed to relocate to higher ground. Those in favor say the sea walls are a necessary evil, and one that will provide some jobs, at least for a time.

A week after a cyclone tore through the South Pacific archipelago with winds of 168 miles per hour, people are focused on the task of rebuilding. About 65,000 people across Vanuatu were left homeless by the cyclone, which killed 17 people.

A Russian man charged with hacking into U.S. businesses to steal thousands of credit card numbers has two weeks to provide a list of all of his assets to a federal judge, who will then decide if he has to pay for his federal public defender.

The gruesome toll of West Africa's Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 4,200 Liberians of the more than 10,000 who have succumbed to the disease, has intensified efforts to find a vaccine for a disease that previously infected relatively few people in remote areas.